Integrated Photonics Engineer

We are seeking an Optical / Photonics Engineer specializing in Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) design, fabrication, and validation to support the development of next-generation near-to-eye display technologies.

The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience taking PIC devices through the complete development lifecycle, including device/circuit design, electromagnetic simulation, layout and GDSII generation, foundry PDK integration, fabrication/tape out, and experimental characterization of fabricated devices.

This role requires strong integrated photonics fundamentals and the ability to analyze differences between simulated/design performance and measured device performance, including optical losses and fabrication-induced variations.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, simulate, optimize, and validate Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) and individual photonic components for visible and/or IR wavelengths.
• Develop PICs from fundamental photonic building blocks through complete circuit-level implementations.
• Perform electromagnetic and photonic simulations using tools such as Lumerical FDTD/MODE/DEVICE, Ansys Photonics, Synopsys RSoft, COMSOL Multiphysics, or equivalent.
• Create fabrication-ready PIC layouts using KLayout, Cadence Virtuoso, gdsfactory, or equivalent tools.
• Generate and verify GDSII layouts using commercial foundry Process Design Kits (PDKs) and design-rule verification.
• Support the complete design-to-fabrication/tapeout lifecycle with commercial semiconductor/photonics foundries.
• Experimentally characterize and validate fabricated PIC devices and compare simulated/design performance against measured results.
• Analyze optical performance including coupling loss, insertion loss, propagation loss, SNR, scattering, and other device-level performance metrics.
• Investigate discrepancies between simulated and measured performance and identify root causes related to fabrication, device design, coupling, packaging, or measurement.
• Incorporate fabrication constraints such as sidewall roughness, etch non-idealities, process variation, minimum feature sizes, bend radii, and coupling losses into device designs.
• Use Python and/or MATLAB for simulation automation, parametric analysis, data processing, and device characterization.
• Collaborate with optical scientists, researchers, program managers, cross-functional engineering teams, and external fabrication partners.

Must-Have Qualifications

1. PIC Design, Fabrication & Validation

• 3 years of hands-on experience designing, simulating, and laying out Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) for visible and/or IR wavelengths.
• Demonstrated experience taking at least one PIC-based device through design → fabrication/tapeout → experimental validation/characterization.
• Experience with photonic platforms such as Si, SiN, LiNbO₃/LNOI, BTO, or equivalent integrated photonics platforms.

2. Photonic Simulation & Modeling

Strong hands-on experience with at least one major photonic/electromagnetic modeling platform such as:

• Lumerical FDTD / MODE / DEVICE
• Ansys Photonics
• Synopsys RSoft
• COMSOL Multiphysics
• or equivalent
• Experience performing device/component-level simulation, optimization, and parametric analysis.

3. PIC Layout, GDSII & Foundry Tapeout

• 2 years of experience with PIC layout using KLayout, Cadence Virtuoso, gdsfactory, or equivalent.
• Hands-on experience generating GDSII and working with foundry PDKs and design-rule verification.
• 1 years of experience supporting or executing PIC tapeouts at a commercial semiconductor/photonics foundry.

4. Fabrication & Optical Loss Understanding

• Strong understanding of fabrication-induced performance limitations including:
• Propagation and insertion losses
• Coupling losses
• Sidewall roughness/scattering
• Etch-depth and dimensional variations
• Process variability and fabrication tolerances
• Ability to explain and investigate differences between expected/simulated and experimentally measured device performance.

5. Device Characterization

• Hands-on experience experimentally testing or characterizing fabricated PIC devices.
• Experience evaluating optical performance metrics such as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), insertion/coupling loss, propagation loss, transmission, or equivalent device-performance measurements.

6. Scientific Programming

• 2 years of Python and/or MATLAB experience for scientific computing, simulation scripting, design automation, data analysis, or experimental data processing.

7. Education

• MS or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Optical Sciences, Physics, Photonics, or a closely related technical field, or equivalent relevant experience.

Nice-to-Have Qualifications

• Experience designing and validating active PICs, including modulators, phase shifters, electro-optic devices, or other actively controlled photonic components.
• Experience with visible-wavelength integrated photonics.
• Experience with LiNbO₃/LNOI or BTO photonic platforms.
• Experience with photonic circuit/system-level simulation tools such as Lumerical INTERCONNECT, Synopsys OptSim, or VPIphotonics.
• Experience with optical and electro-optic device characterization.
• Experience with fiber optics, free-space optics, fiber-to-chip/free-space-to-chip coupling, and PIC packaging.
• Experience with design-space exploration, sensitivity analysis, Monte Carlo/statistical analysis, and yield modeling.
• Experience incorporating fabrication constraints into PIC designs to improve manufacturability and yield.
• Experience with diffractive optics, physical optics, imaging systems, near-eye displays, AR/VR, or display technologies.
• Experience with optical design/modeling tools such as Zemax, FRED, ASAP, or LightTools.
• Experience with radiometry/photometry, optical scatter, stray-light analysis, or imaging-system SNR modeling.
• Previous integrated photonics R&D experience within a leading technology company, semiconductor company, photonics company, research laboratory, or university research environment.

Supplier Candidate Screening Questions

Candidates must provide detailed responses to the following questions. Responses should be clearly documented on the submitted resume.

1. Have you designed, fabricated/taped out, and experimentally validated a PIC-based device?
2. Please describe the device, photonic platform, operating wavelength, your individual contribution, and fabrication/foundry process.
3. What were the key photonic components used in the device?
4. Examples may include waveguides, grating/edge couplers, directional couplers, MMIs, resonators, MZIs, modulators, phase shifters, splitters/combiners, detectors, etc.
5. What was your optical input/output strategy, and what losses did you observe?
6. Describe the coupling approach and relevant coupling, insertion, propagation, scattering, or other optical losses.
7. What tools did you use to design, simulate, and lay out the PIC?
8. Include simulation tools, layout tools, programming languages, foundry PDKs, and other relevant design tools.
9. What was the expected/simulated device performance compared with the measured performance?
10. Please discuss SNR or other applicable performance metrics and provide quantitative results where possible.
11. What caused the difference between simulated/design expectations and measured performance?
12. Discuss relevant factors such as fabrication tolerances, sidewall roughness, etch variation, coupling/alignment losses, scattering, material losses, packaging, or measurement limitations.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The strongest candidate will be an Integrated Photonics / PIC Design Engineer who can demonstrate direct ownership of a PIC device from design and simulation through layout/GDSII, commercial foundry fabrication/tapeout, and hands-on experimental validation.

Candidates whose experience is primarily traditional optical system design, imaging, Zemax modeling, illumination, or AR/VR optics without substantial hands-on PIC design and fabrication experience will not be a strong fit for this position.

Interview:

● Format: 1 round, panel interview with 2–3 interviewers

● Duration: 1 hour

● Focus: Q&A covering diffractive optics, hands-on experimental experience, and discussion of the candidate’s PhD work

Feedback from the Hiring Manager: Recent candidates demonstrated limited experience with PICs and were unable to answer key questions, despite their resumes indicating strong proficiency. They also did not have experience designing, fabricating, and validating PICs.

Reminder: The supplier screening questions included in the RSD must be completed, and responses must be clearly documented on the resume. If the answers are not included, the candidate will not be considered.